A Switch In Time
by DeliciousYAY
Summary: Zim and Dib are in a car accident one day after running home from school. But after a while of suffering chronic passing out, something goes wrong. I mean, do you know how hard it is to fight someone when it's like looking into a mirror?


Just so everyone will know, I'm not putting a disclaimer on every chapter. Only this one.

I DO NOT OWN ZIM!

"GIR!" Zim screamed at the top of his lungs (Or whatever the Irken equivalent is). He looked around and, seeing as the green dog-thing was sitting on the sidewalk next to him, lowered his voice a bit.

The sudden outburst probably didn't faze the defective SIR unit, and even if it did, he didn't show a single sign of even thinking to flinch (or thinking at all). "So, Gir, do you remember our plan?"

"Psh, NO!" Gir happily replied, flipping his hand like a girl. The poor excuse for a Sir unit was incapable of understanding multisyllabic words unless he was in duty mode (which, if you couldn't tell, wasn't now).

Zim sighed, almost regretting ever accepting Gir from the Tallest. "Listen closely, Gir. And try to remember this time. I plan on building a mind control device of enormous size. I will set it on the brains of all humans and force them to work for me!" He noticed a kid watching him through the window with the creepiest stare you could imagine. Zim smiled awkwardly and ducked beneath the fence. The kid slowly slid out of sight, keeping the creepy stare.

Zim sighed a breath of relief as he got up. "Gir, that was way too close. That... _HEEEEEWWMAN _almost discovered our plan." He peeked over the fence and scrutinized the scene as if looking for a ghost. "We must be more careful."

Dib was also running home. He had to pick up his presentation on Bigfoot before the meeting, and he was already late.

Zim was contemplating the child's stare when Gir ran into the street, screaming,"MY SALAMIIIIIIII!!!" He picked up a penny in the middle of the street and hugged it.

Zim chased Gir and yanked on the leash. "Gir, what did I tell you about talking?!" Zim pulled and tugged but couldn't get Gir to budge.

Just then Dib came bolting around the corner. He barely had time to shout "Zim?" before he crashed into the alien. They lay there for a minute, then Zim got up.

"Watch where you're going, Dib!" He said, his head swimming.

"Me, watch where I'm going?! You're the one that was standing in the middle of the road! Don't you know anything!?" Dib was up by now and yelling in Zim's face.

Gir had, amazingly, been able to avoid them, despite the fact that he was right in between Zim and Dib when they crashed.

They stood there arguing for a moment when they heard a loud screech and a horn blaring. They both simultaneously turned and they were frozen to the spot by what they saw. It was a car, and it was enormous (To Zim and Dib, anyway).

They ducked on impulse and covered their heads. Gir, oblivious to the danger, kept standing there with his penny. There was a CRUNCH as Zim's leg was crushed and Gir was thrown to the side by the car.

Dib, however, was unharmed. After the car left, he stopped screaming and got up.

"Well, that was interesting," he remarked, dusting himself off. He saw Zim laying still on the road and almost felt sorry for him. His feelings were stopped when he was knocked rather unconscious by a penny.

.*~IZC~*.

Dib woke up first. He just sat there for a while, then checked his watch. It was useless to try and get to the meeting now. He sat up, waiting for the world to stop spinning. Standing up, he noticed that Zim had been taken away. He pondered why for a moment, then the pain in his head reminded him that he had to get home.

Dib found a stick and used it to support himself. He saw Gir sleeping on the sidewalk and the thought of disassembling him flitted through his mind, but he didn't have time right now. So instead he picked up the little robot and took him home to study later.

Once he got home, Gaz didn't waste time glaring at him. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you? My GS2 almost ran out of batteries!" Dib's little sister stuck five fingers in his face. "Five minutes, Dib. Five minutes! That's how long it's been in red!" She turned around. "If it died on me, Dib, you'd be sorry that mankind existed..."

Dib sighed. "Gaz, your backup batteries are on the tv. And besides, the thing has, like, two hours of electricity in it after it's red," he explained. But he believed his sister. If it had died...

Dib shuddered. Even if he _was_ two years older than Gaz, there was no telling what she'd do if her game died. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

He saw Gaz walk to the tv, reach up, and withdraw two dusty batteries. They had been up there waiting to be used for a long time, since Gaz always seemed to have batteries in her pockets. It was a mystery to Dib why she didn't this time.

Dib staggered into the kitchen, thinking that a glass of water might help. He set Gir, still in his green doggie suit, on the counter.

As he opened the refrigerator door, he heard his dad call from the other side of the kitchen, "Hello, son! How was your day? Filled with _insanity,_ I bet!"

Dib poured himself a glass of water. "Yeah, I guess..." he mumbled, not really in the mood for conversation. He drank the water, liking the cooling sensation that ran through his body. It helped him straighten up a little, but the pain in his head didn't go away.

"Dad, I think I'm gonna go to bed. My head hurts," he said as he went upstairs.

"Considering the size of it, that's not surprising," Gaz said from the living room.

He ignored the comment as he disappeared upstairs. Dib opened the door to his room. Walking in, he threw Gir in a corner.

He took off his jacket and hung it on its stand. He crawled into bed and it wasn't long before he fell into a restless sleep.

.*~IZC~*.

Zim woke up and was almost blinded by what was around him. He was in a hospital room filled with white things. He didn't like it; it looked too sterile.

There was a small flower on the windowsill. For a moment, Zim wondered why any one would put such a revolting thing in his room.

He tried to get up, but he felt a gentle hand on his chest.

"You should rest, little green boy," he heard a soft voice say. "You broke your leg."

Naturally, Zim tried to resist the nurse's hand.

"I am ZIM! Zim needs no rest!" He tried kicking her, but the cast was too heavy. He laid back on the pillow, looking sleepy. He swung his hands at her as if they were made of lead. In truth, he sort of liked the pain free retreat that humans call 'sleep', but telling anyone would be a sign of weakness. "Zim is a reservoir of boundless energy...!"

The nurse only giggled. "Yes you are. Just like everyone who just broke their leg."

Zim was getting impatient with this human. She didn't take him seriously. He wanted her out. Out of the room, out of his sight.

"Get... out..." He whispered, as if it hurt to talk.

"Okay, I'll leave you to rest." She said, walking to the door. She turned off the light.

"Listen to... me, human.... For... I am ZIM..." He managed to get one more word in before unconsciousness: "Zim..."

"Yes you are," The nurse said, closing the door.

.*~IZC~*.

Dib woke up with a sharp pain in his head. He touched a hand to where the pain was coming from and felt blood. He turned and saw a red stain on his pillow. He turned it over. He did this so nobody would see it, but he was pretty much brain dead at the time so he didn't notice.

Dib trudged sluggishly down the stairs, barely noticing his sister. She had poured him a glass of milk.

"I did that favor you asked me to when you gave me the whole pizza, Dib. Your milk's on the table."

Dib stopped. He slowly turned his head. Walking to the table, he pulled his half on trench coat up to his shoulders. He sat at the table and put his hand on the glass of milk.

Gaz twitched at the sound of plastic hitting the tile floor. She turned around to see Dib with his face down on the table in the milk.

"How dare you... I do a favor and you ruin it?! When I'm done with you, Dib, you will be so dead you won't believe-" She stopped midsentence as she realized she was threatening an unconscious (once again) Dib.

Gaz shrugged. "Mm," she muttered, turning to go to school. Behind her the dust raised spookily.

.*~IZC~*.

Zim shot up from bed. "Skool! I'll be late!" He eyed the room suspiciously. "_Then_ they'll _know..._"

The nurse from the day before came in cheerily. "I have good news! You're free to go home, little boy."

Zim attempted to get out of bed. Once again the nurse stopped him. "You're not ready to walk, yet."

Zim was confused. "Eh? But you said that Zim was healed!"

She chuckled. "You're on your way there. But now, you have to use these." She handed him a pair of crutches. "You put them under your arms to support you."

Zim tried. The crutches were about a foot taller than him.

"We can fix that." The nurse pulled a chainsaw out of the back of her apron and cut an estimated foot out of the bottom of Zim's crutches. The horrified Zim held them forward so as to not get his legs sawed off.

After a terrified moment, Zim put the crutches in the right place again. They fit perfectly. He walked around and was satisfied that he was still independent.

"Now hurry to skool, green child," She giggled.

Zim didn't need to be told twice. He promptly saluted and wobbled out the door.

Dib also shot up and gasped. He coughed, having inhaled some milk. He staggered to the pantry and grabbed some paper towels.

He took his glasses off and wiped them clean. Then he wiped his face off and put the towel in the recycling bin. His dad would use it for some freak experiment.

Dib peered at the clock. It looked all fuzzy. _Do my glasses still have some milk on them_? Dib thought, reaching up to check. He slapped his forehead. His glasses weren't on, period.

He picked them up off the table an put them on. He now looked at the clock. It was almost noon! He grabbed his bag and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"I'm late, late, late," he said to himself as he raced to school. As he neared the school, he skidded to a halt. He walked to the curb and picked up a shiny object. Then he shook his head and ran inside.

"But does the worm have any advantages?" Zim asked, inturrupting Ms. Bitters once again.

Ms. Bitters growled and wasn't going to answer but she wouldn't have time anyway. The door exploded, revealing a shocked Dib, his face rather burnt.

"Dib, you're late!" the insane teacher hoarsely accused.

"I kn-"

"One more tome and I'll have to send you to prison," she continued.

"Don't you think that's a li-"

"SIT DOWN." She commanded, pointing to his seat.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Dib sat in his seat, noticing that Zim was handicapped. "Hey, Zim. What happened to you?" Dib asked skeptically.

Zim growled at him, saying,"You know full well what 'happened to me', Dib."

Dib looked thoughtful for a moment, then said,"Oh yeah, the thing with the car." He walked over to Zim's desk. "That wasn't my fault, y'know."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes. It. WAS."

"Noooooooooo..... it wasn't," Dib said, slightly smiling.

Zim was getting sick of this argument. "Yes it WAS, so says Zim."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Oh, I guess _that_ settles it." He walked back to his seat.

Zim smirked. "Zim has triumphed once again!" he said, trying to stand on his desk but, with his broken leg, settled with standing next to it, leaning on the wall. This caused all the students and Ms. Bitters to stare at him. He stood for an awkward moment, then lowered his fists. "I mean, I'm normal like all you humans, yep." He sat down, satisfied with his convincing performance.

"How do they not see that he's an alien? HOW!?" Dib asked himself. All attention was on him now, but he didn't seem to notice yet. "Am I the only person with eyesight in here?! And I'm.... talking.... to myself.... again." He shrunk into his seat.

"As I was saying," Ms. Bitters growled, "the worm is now completely- completely- Dib! Zim! No sleeping in class!" They didn't respond.

Zita poked Zim's back. "Ms. Bitters, I think they're unconscious," she reported.

"No unconscious children in the classroom!" She pointed to Torque. "You! Take them outside!" she barked. Torque picked Zim and Dib up with ease. He took the hall pass necklace from the teacher, walked into the hall, and exited the school. He dropped Zim and Dib onto the sidewalk. He then went back inside the horrible building known to most as skool.


End file.
